FICSA/C/65/FIELD/2 Provisional agenda item 10(d) FICSA Council 65th Session World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe Copenhagen, 13 to 17 February 2012 Security Level System (SLS) FEDERATION OF INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SERVANTS ASSOCIATIONS FEDERATION DES ASSOCIATIONS DE FONCTIONNAIRES INTERNATIONAUX Geneva, 30 January 2012
Ref. FICSA Council decision FICSA/C/64/D/37: The 64 th FICSA Council staff decided that associations/unions should ensure that their members received adequate security training in the new SLS and report on their experience to the FICSA secretariat. Because the responses to the above showed that not all of the organizations have provided information or training on the new Security Level System (SLS), the FICSA secretariat has provided a summary of the replies and a description extracted from the UN Security Policy Manual (Annex). Replies received from the FICSA membership in response to Council decision FICSA/C/64/D/37 AP-in-FAO As far as the Association of Professionals in FAO is aware, no coordinated training effort has taken place either at FAO headquarters or at their decentralised locations. Some FAO representatives have received a briefing on the new system while attending the Integrated Security Management Team. Anecdotal evidence indicates that most of the staff still refer to the old security phase system. Some of them are vaguely aware of the new level mechanism but usually they do not have any knowledge of the consequences of moving from one level to another. They would support advocacy on the part of FICSA that UNDSS consider carrying out an information and training campaign. IFAD IFAD security (SEU) is planning a training programme (for managers or staff P4 and above) that will happen in November 2011. The objective is described below. Objective: This training programme aims at raising the managers awareness of the new UN Security policies and familiarize them with the respective roles and obligations within the UN security system. The programme will further assist managers in making critical decisions about the continuation of a programme or a suspension of an essential mission when staff safety could be compromised. The training will further include techniques on crisis management and responding to a security event. Also in IFAD SEU, they had a previous training session (in HQ) that happened last month (September 2011) not specifically on SLS but it was discussed. Next month there will be a workshop on IFAD operations in West Africa and security have been invited to participate. There is work to be done and security is aware of the need to expand their training programmes particularly with our increase in field presence.
ILO/ITC All Centre staff must successfully complete the on-line training on Basic Security in the Field (BSITF) whilst any staff member on official travel to any field location regardless of security level, must successfully complete ASITF (Advanced Security in the Field) training. The ITC ILO follows the guidelines of the United Nations Security Management System (UNSMS) which introduced a new security management framework known as the Security Level System (SLS). IMO IMO's Security Focal Point Officer had been attending a regional workshop on security organized by the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) every two years. IMO was planning to provide training to all staff using in-house resource with the support from the UNDSS personnel. In the meantime, their Focal Point updates weekly advisory travel under SLS issued by the UNDSS using IMO's intranet site on Staff Safety and Security and provide the following information: 'Staff members travelling to duty stations under a security phase are required to notify UNDSS of their travel plans through the UNDSSS website. UNDSS has noted that security issues might arise anywhere, as a result of natural disasters, attacks on hotels or pandemics, even in duty stations which are not under any security phase. As such, to facilitate support to staff while on official mission, all UN personnel who travel on official business, including home leave or other entitlement travel paid by the organizations of the UN system, must submit a travel notification whenever travelling. This applies even to areas where no security phase is in effect'. PAHO The PAHO/WHO Staff Association was not aware of any training carried out either at HQ in Washington DC or at their country offices. They requested information from the focal point in PAHO and the reply was that SLS training is designed for the security managers such as the PAHO/WHO Representatives and the administrator to prepare security reviews at the agency chief level. It is not designed for the majority of the staff. PAHO has been advised that DSS (central UN security) has been taking the lead in training all of the senior local UN officials in each country at the same time. They have on-site staff which can better handle the training. Some e-mails have been sent to the PWR and administrators alerting them of the SLS system and telling them to work with the local DSS officers who are in each country where we have a PWR office. They support FICSA s advocacy that UNDSS disseminate information on this subject. UNAIDS From the UNAIDS side they have not conducted any proper training (as such) on the SLS. However, an e-training module has been prepared by their Security Officer and was awaiting clearance by UNAIDS Administration before role-out to staff. In the meantime, their security officer had informed them of the following interim steps:
UNDSS Security advisers have been trained on the SLS and were expected to brief the SMT s (security Management Teams) in country. There was an information on the SLS in the security web pages of the UNAIDS Intranet (under UNDSS travel advisory). There was an information email with relevant documentation on 20 December 2010 on the abolishment of the UN security phases system and replacement by SLS sent out to all UNAIDS staff worldwide. WHO/EMRO They requested information from their colleagues in DAF/EMRO and were informed by the security adviser that their HQ Staff Association colleagues were involved in the process globally and were in a better position to ask Director OSS and Coordinator SEC for inputs. For the sake of a coordinated WHO feedback and information sharing, they suggested that their SA/HQ colleagues prepare a global response on behalf of all WHO personnel in coordination with regional staff associations who would in turn coordinate with field offices. They would like to second their PAHO Staff Association colleagues welcoming FICSA s advocacy to strengthen information sharing about this very important subject across and between the organizations. Kindly note that EMRO Staff Association was equally considering staff security and safety trainings and measures. They hope that WHO/HQ SA and regional colleagues find their suggestion useful and feasible. WHO/WPRO There has been no general information sent about the change of the security system. They would say that 99 per cent of Professional staff were unaware of any change. There has also been no training provided, except for a training for administrative staff who were doing travel requests. Some of them were trained in January 2011 on the TRIPS system, which included something on the SLS as well. WMO As an example in 2010, the DSS Regional Security Advisor for Costa Rica, introduced and guided the UN Staff on the new system to evaluate the security levels in the country (SLS) which were in force since January 2011. In August 2010 the SMT decided that every agency carried out the assessment exercise of the security levels for Costa Rica according to the qualification parameters presented by the DSS. The general result qualified the country in the Minimum Level of Security, which was later approved by the SMT in December 2010. This was likewise implemented in a similar manner in other sub-regional offices of WMO. * * *
Annex United Nations Security Management System Security Policy Manual Chapter IV SECURITY MANAGEMENT SECTION B Security Level System (SLS). Date: 08 April 2011
UNSMS Security Policy Manual - 1 A. Introduction: 1. The Security Level System is a system for assigning a grade or level to areas where the United Nations operates in order to identify the overall level of danger in that area. The Security Level System is a tool for United Nations security professionals to: B. Purpose: a. More accurately identify and measure the level of security threat that exists in a geographic location, b. Produce a Security Level (1-6) for that location, and c. Give an overall impression to staff and managers of how the security environment in one area/location compares with another. 2. The purpose of this policy is to outline the rationale for the Security Level System and the relevant roles and responsibilities associated with it. C. Application/Scope: 3. The policy is applicable to all individuals covered by the United Nations Security Management System, as defined in Chapter III of the Security Policy Manual ( Applicability of United Nations Security Management System ). D. Conceptual Framework: 4. The Security Level System is an integral part of the Security Risk Management process and is designed to accurately describe the security environment that exists in an area or location ( Security Level Area ) in which the United Nations operates. 5. The Security Level System is based on threat and not risk. The Security Level System describes the general, threat-based security environment. Because security measurers must be designed to solve specific security problems, the Security Level System is not used to make specific security decisions. The Security Level System objectively describes the threat environment and uses this objective evaluation to inform the Security Risk Assessment, from which security decisions are made. 6. A Security Level is determined using a Structured Threat Assessment. The Structured Threat Assessment evaluates five categories: Armed Conflict, Terrorism, Crime, Civil Unrest and Hazards. Each category is evaluated using a point system, and the combination of these separate evaluations automatically determines the Security Level. The Security Level indicates the level of danger that exists in the defined area or location on a scale of 1 to 6. Chapter IV: SECURITY MANAGEMENT B. Security Level System (SLS)
UNSMS Security Policy Manual - 2 7. To be reliable, a Structured Threat Assessment must have a clearly defined geographical area of analysis. A Security Level Area should define the geographical scope of similar threats and hazards. It is rare for threats and hazards to be the same throughout an entire country, therefore most countries require more than one Security Level Area, although the number of Security Level Areas in a country should be kept to a manageable number. 8. The Structured Threat Assessment is updated anytime there is a significant change in the security environment, either an improvement or a worsening of the situation. The Security Level System provides security decision makers with a very important snapshot of the existing threat-based environment in the defined area or location in which they need to operate. All Structured Threat Assessments are conducted in the same way, so security decision makers receive the added value of being able to compare their locations with other locations in the world. E. Security Levels 9. The SLS has 6 Levels, from 1 (least dangerous environment) to 6 (most dangerous environment). In addition to numbers, the Security Levels also have accompanying titles and colors as described in Annex A below. F. Roles and Responsibilities in the Security Level System 10. All Chief Security Advisors, Security Advisors and Chief Security Officers, along with the Security Cell, are responsible for preparing the Structured Threat Assessment, including establishing Security Level Areas, using all applicable threat-related information. 11. The Designated Official approves Security Levels 1 to 5. The Secretary General, through the Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security, approves Level 6. Upon approval, the Security Level is recorded in the Department of Safety and Security (DSS) database and automatically included in the DSS Travel Advisory. 12. The Security Level System must be a standing agenda item for all Security Management Team meetings, where the Designated Official, in consultation with the Security Management Team, either confirms the Structured Threat Assessment as it stands, or approves any modification to it due to changes in the security environment, as per paragraph 7 above. 13. The Headquarters of the Department of Safety and Security is responsible for validating all Structured Threat Assessments and resulting Security Levels. G. Training Requirements 14. Requirements for Basic Security in the Field (BSITF) and Advanced Security in the Field (ASITF) are not linked to Security Levels. All United Nations personnel must successfully complete Basic Security in the Field (BSITF) training. United Nations personnel being assigned to, or visiting on official travel, any field Chapter IV: SECURITY MANAGEMENT B. Security Level System (SLS)
UNSMS Security Policy Manual - 3 location 1, regardless of Security Level, must successfully complete Advanced Security in the Field (ASITF) training. BSITF and ASITF certificates are valid for three years, at which point staff members must recertify. H. Security Clearance 15. Security clearance is required for all official travel to any location regardless of the Security Level 2. The Designated Official has the delegated authority to grant security clearances for official travel to areas designated Security Level 1 to 5. The Under-Secretary General for Safety and Security may rescind this delegation as required. Security clearance authority for areas in which Security Level 6 is in effect is not delegated and will be granted only by the Under-Secretary General for Safety and Security on behalf of the Secretary-General. 16. As explained in detail in Chapter V of the Security Policy Manual, Security Clearance Procedures and the Travel Request Information Process (TRIP), TRIP allows for both automatic and manual processes for granting security clearances. If the security plan for a certain location requires security clearance only to track traveller numbers and movement, then Designated Officials have the option of setting automatic clearances in TRIP. 17. When the security plan requires control over the number of travellers in a specific location, Designated Officials can set the TRIP system so that all official travel into a specific area has to be cleared manually. Manual security clearance procedures can be established at any location in any Security Level if the Designated Official requires it, and it is highly recommended that all areas in Security Level 4 or higher have manual security clearance procedures. I. Relocation and Evacuation: 18. The Security Level System does not deal with evacuation and relocation of staff or eligible family members. This issue is categorized as a risk management option and is considered after the Security Risk Assessment has been conducted. See Security Policy Manual, Chapter IV, Section D, Relocation, Evacuation and Alternate Work Modalities - Measures to Avoid Risk for the procedures on 1 For the purpose of this policy, field location is any location not designated as an H (Headquarters) duty station under the mobility and hardship scheme established by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC). 2 The HLCM, at its 20th Session "endorsed the objective of requiring that all official travel be registered in TRIP, on the basis of full integration between TRIP and each organization s travel system, by the end of 2011" (CEB/2010/5). Until the end of 2011, if an organization s travel system is not integrated, official travel of its personnel from "H" duty station to "H" duty station, as defined by the mobility and hardship scheme established by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), will not require security clearance. [By the end of 2011, or when all travel systems are integrated, this footnote will be removed from the policy]. Chapter IV: SECURITY MANAGEMENT B. Security Level System (SLS)
UNSMS Security Policy Manual - 4 making relocation and evacuation decision, as well as for issuing All Agency Communiqués to this effect. Chapter IV: SECURITY MANAGEMENT B. Security Level System (SLS)
UNSMS Security Policy Manual - 5 Annex A: Security Levels System overview Security Level Recommended Management Actions 3 Authority Level of Oversight 6 Extreme SMT meets at least weekly (at DO discretion) Re-evaluation of staffing needs and security clearance based on the Acceptable Risk Model and the new concept of operations and security plan External Security Clearance approved by USG/ DSS Secretary- General 4 (as delegated) 5 High SMT meets at least weekly (at DO discretion) Reevaluation of staffing needs based on the Acceptable Risk Model (Staff in non-critical posts relocated/evacuated) Security clearance required DO USG/DSS (validation within 7 days) 4 Substantial SMT meets at least bi-weekly (at DO discretion) Re-evaluation of staffing needs and security clearance based on the Acceptable Risk Model No external conferences DO USG/DSS (validation within 7 days) 3 Moderate SMT meets at least monthly External conferences must be authorized by DO DO Director DRO/DSS (validation within 7 days) 2 Low SMT meets at least twice a year External conferences organizer must notify DO DO Director DRO/DSS (validation within 7 days) 1 Minimal SMT meets at least twice a year TRIP entry for all official travel DO Director DRO/DSS 3 Every SMT meeting must review the Structured Threat Assessment as part of the required validation of the Security Risk Assessment. A change in the Structured Threat Assessment launches the Security Risk Management process, the result of which will be specific and appropriate security management actions. 4 Should the Secretary-General decide that a minimum number of staff may remain in a Level 6 location, the Executive Heads will decide whether their staff may operate in this environment. Chapter IV: SECURITY MANAGEMENT B. Security Level System (SLS)